Original artwork for the front page of the 1992 Christmas TV Guide by Posy Simmonds. In 2006 the
GNM Archive acquired a large collection of Posy's original artwork from 1977 to 2004 Illustration: Posy Simmonds for the Guardian

Police constable Gil Boyd dressed as Santa pauses to talk to a young patient while abseiling down the eight storey Great Ormond Street Hospital building. His 1983 descent raised £1,000 for the hospital Photograph: E. Hamilton West for the Guardian

Sleigh out of service Santa? British Railway Father Christmas talks to passengers on a platform in 1962. This picture is just one of thousands taken by
Jane Bown for the Observer now catalogued and preserved in the
GNM Archive Photograph: Jane Bown for the Observer

The 1959 Observer Christmas card designed by
Haro Hodson depicts a Yuletide scene with a gentleman reading a copy of the Observer. Haro's artwork appeared in The
Observer between 1948 and 1964 and the GNM Archive is now home to 1600 of his original illustrations Illustration: Haro Hodson for the Observer

Fortnum and Mason advertising Christmas hampers to send to the troops in wartime. The advert lists two types of hampers, the 'services food hamper' and the 'comfort hamper' with the last posting date for both being the 12 December. Published in the Manchester Guardian, 10 December 1939

First page of The Little Match Girl comic strip illustrated by Posy Simmonds and published in the Observer Colour magazine on the 23 December 1984. The draft sketches and the final illustrations for the Little Match Girl make up part of the Posy Simmonds collection held by the
GNM Archive Illustration: Posy Simmonds for the Observer

In 1980 the Guardian corporate Christmas card, illustrated by Les Gibbard, went to print as usual but a rather obvious problem was soon spotted. At that time the paper had a reputation for typos and the Christmas cards were instructed to be pulped. Luckily for the GNM Archive, one young employee in the Marketing department managed to smuggle a card out the building. It was graciously returned to the editor in 2011 and has now joined the Guardian archive collection Illustration: Les Gibbard for the Guardian

'Christmas drinky' by Berger and Wyse published by the Guardian on the 9 December 2011. The cartoons of Berger and Wyse have entertained readers of the Guardian since 2003 and the
GNM Archive now hold a collection of their original artwork Illustration: Berger and Wyse for the Guardian

Children traveling on the Worth Valley Railway, the five mile preserved track running through the heart of Bronte Country in Yorkshire, all received a present from the line’s own Father Christmas, 1979. The
GNM Archive holds a considerable photographic collection of Denis Thorpe's work from 1950 to 2000 Photograph: Denis Thorpe for the Guardian

A game to help Edward Heep find his way home from the pub on Christmas Eve. 'All you need is a dice and counters.' Original artwork illustrated by Posy Simmonds in 1980 Illustration: Posy Simmonds for the Guardian